About Jennifer L. King

A city, a public health association, an Inuit association and a private company have all brought hard regulatory fights to Jennifer L. King, a Toronto partner at Gowling WLG who co-leads the firm's Administrative Law Practice Group across Canada. Jennifer's a litigator first: some files challenge what a government has decided, others defend it, and the work runs through every level of court in Ontario, Nunavut and the federal system, plus tribunals like the Ontario Land Tribunal and the Nunavut Impact Review Board. Alongside the courtroom work, Jennifer helps clients get approvals through demanding regimes, from environmental assessments to energy and transportation projects.

The path here started in general civil litigation. Jennifer earned an applied science degree at McMaster University in 2003, then a JD from the University of Toronto in 2006, and was called to the Ontario bar in 2007. A move to Gowling WLG in 2016 brought a shift into environmental law, ESG and climate change, and Jennifer went on to lead the firm's ESG advisory practice before taking up the administrative law co-lead role. A Nunavut call followed in 2019.

Emergencies have become a big part of the practice. When the Ambassador Bridge was blockaded in February 2022, Jennifer acted as lead counsel for the City of Windsor on the injunction, then represented Windsor again at the Public Order Emergency Commission. Public inquiries aren't new ground: Jennifer has sat on both sides of them, as commission counsel and as counsel for a party. Canadian Lawyer put Jennifer on its Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers list in 2023.

Teaching is a steady thread too. Jennifer was an adjunct professor of administrative law at Osgoode Hall Law School from 2023 to 2025, sits on the advisory boards of two Osgoode Professional Development certificates and teaches in both, and took over as program director of the one on ESG, climate risk and the law. Jennifer is also a director of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History and a Climate Governance Expert with the Canada Climate Law Initiative.

Practice areas

Administrative & Regulatory Law Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Government decisions and regulatory approvals

Jennifer takes on administrative law proceedings on both sides, defending government decisions and challenging them, and defends clients facing regulatory prosecutions. On the advisory side, Jennifer guides clients through approvals touching public health, land use, resource extraction, climate change and more.

Environmental assessment

For a group of municipalities, Jennifer was co-lead counsel at a federal panel review hearing under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, on a proposed private intermodal transportation facility. The hearing drew experts on traffic, air quality, health and species at risk.

Municipal and land use disputes

Jennifer was part of a Gowling WLG team acting for a private company in an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal over a zoning by-law amendment that made the area around its industrial facility a Protected Major Transit Station Area. For a municipality, Jennifer was co-lead counsel opposing leave to appeal a Local Planning Appeal Tribunal order to the Divisional Court, and leave was refused.

Indigenous clients in the North

Jennifer helps Indigenous organizations negotiate land and impact benefit agreements. In Nunavut, Jennifer acted for an Inuit association before the Nunavut Impact Review Board and the Nunavut Water Board on the effects of a mining project.

Commercial and civil litigation

Jennifer's civil work covers corporate and contractual disputes, professional liability and tort claims, along with constitutional questions.

Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto

Education & credentials

  • JD (Certificate in Environmental Studies), University of Toronto (2006)
  • B.A.Sc. (Hons.), McMaster University (2003)
  • Called to the bar of Ontario (2007)
  • Called to the bar of Nunavut (2019)

Notable cases

Decisions where Jennifer L. King appeared as counsel, from public court records. Past cases don't predict future results.

Awards & recognition

Publications & speaking

  • How to Integrate Indigenous Rights in ESG Reporting (co-author), Canadian Lawyer (2022)
  • Legal Briefing: Key Climate Litigation, Impacts and Risks for ESG, Osgoode PD Certificate in ESG, Climate Risk and the Law (2022)
  • Emergency Legislation and Regulation in Canada, Osgoode PD Certificate in the Law of Emergencies (2022)
  • Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Environment, 2018 Reissue (co-author), LexisNexis Canada (2018)
  • The Right to Sue and Vicarious Liability, Ontario Bar Association, 2015 Workplace Safety and Insurance Law Program (2015)

Memberships & affiliations

In the community

  • Jennifer served on the boards of neighbourhood community centres in Toronto for 19 years.
  • Jennifer mentors lawyers and law students, both at Gowling WLG and beyond it.

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This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm Jennifer L. King’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗

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